32 Facts About Don Willett

Donny Ray Willett was born on July 16,1966 and is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2018 as a US circuit judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Don Willett was previously a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas from 2005 to 2018.

Don Willett attended public schools in Forney in Kaufman County, graduating in 1984.

Don Willett received a triple-major Bachelor of Business Administration from Baylor University in 1988.

Don Willett then went to Duke University, where he jointly attended the Duke University School of Law and did graduate study in political science.

Don Willett received a Juris Doctor with honors and a Master of Arts in political science in 1992.

Don Willett then practiced employment and labor law in the Austin office of Haynes and Boone, LLP from 1993 to 1996.

Don Willett has served as a non-resident fellow with the Program for Research on Religion and Urban Civil Society at the University of Pennsylvania.

Don Willett drafted the first two executive orders of the Bush presidency, one creating the WHOFBCI and the other creating related offices in five cabinet agencies.

In early 2002, Don Willett was appointed Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Office of Legal Policy at the United States Department of Justice, where he helped coordinate the selection and confirmation of federal judges.

Don Willett supervised policy initiatives such as the PROTECT Act of 2003 to combat child abduction and exploitation.

Don Willett led the development of an executive order to expedite US citizenship for immigrant service members fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Don Willett returned to Texas in early 2003 to become Deputy Texas Attorney General for Legal Counsel in the office of newly elected Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott.

Don Willett was serving in this Deputy Attorney General position when he was appointed to the Texas Supreme Court in August 2005.

Don Willett sits on the advisory board for the Honors College at his alma mater, Baylor University, which named Don Willett a Distinguished Young Alumnus in 2005.

Don Willett served on the national steering committee for Baylor's proposal to secure the Bush Presidential Library.

Don Willett is on the national advisory board for ConSource, a free, online library of US founding-era source material.

For Constitution Day 2008, Don Willett authored a commentary in the Austin American-Statesman highlighting ConSource and its nonprofit educational mission to make these historical documents accessible to teachers, students, academics, lawyers and judges.

Don Willett is a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, the Austin Bar Foundation, and is a member of the American Law Institute.

Don Willett was one of five incumbent justices on the 2006 ballot, but he was the only one who faced opposition; his four colleagues were unopposed in both the March 7 primary and the November 7 general elections.

Don Willett defeated an intraparty challenge from Steve Smith in the May 29,2012, Republican primary, but the contest attracted little attention.

Don Willett authored several notable decisions over the course of his service on the Texas high court, all of which can be found on the Court's official website and on Google Scholar.

Don Willett was liaison to the Texas Center for Legal Ethics and Professionalism, the Task Force to Ensure Judicial Readiness in Times of Emergency, and the Court Reporters Certification Board.

In May 2016, Willett appeared on presidential candidate Donald Trump's list of potential US Supreme Court justices.

In 2016, Don Willett received a Master of Laws from Duke University School of Law.

On October 3,2017, Willett was officially nominated to the seat vacated by Judge Emilio M Garza, who assumed senior status on August 1,2012.

Don Willett received his judicial commission on January 2,2018, and was sworn in the same day.

Don Willett was named Outstanding Young Alumnus of Baylor University in 2005 and inducted into the Forney High School Hall of Honor in 2007.

Don Willett has received the Faith and Integrity in Legal Services Award and the Austin Under 40 Award for Government and Public Affairs.

Don Willett received the Texas Review of Law and Politics's 2014 Distinguished Jurist of the Year Award.

Don Willett is known for his active Twitter presence, though he has only tweeted once since his appointment to the federal bench.

In 2017, Don Willett helped perform the Heimlich maneuver on a diner at Chick-fil-A who was choking.